There have been many different types and kinds of flashing lights for bicycles. For example, reference may be made to the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,283,442; 2,301,250; 2,732,540; and 3,696,334. The foregoing patents disclose flashing bicycle lights which include mechanical switching devices. However, while these flashing lights may be satisfactory for some applications, they are of relatively low intensity and it would be highly desirable to have a high intensity strobe light for producing an attention-attracting signal, as well as a great deal of illumination. For example, reference may be made to an article entitled "A Strobe Flasher for Night Cycling" in Popular Mechanics, October, 1976, pages 68-70, which discloses a battery-powered strobe light for bicycles. While such a unit may be satisfactory in that it produces a relatively high intensity flashing light for bicycles, the flashing unit is battery powered, and, therefore, the batteries must be replaced every few hours. Such a situation is not at all satisfactory for many cyclists, especially those who use their bicycles on long trips. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a lighting system which produces a high intensity strobe light, and which can be powered by a conventional lightweight alternator driven mechanically by the bicycle as it is propelled along the ground. It should be noted that such a strobe unit must necessarily be light in weight and be powered by conventional lightweight bicycle alternators, since bicycle alternators are generally of a low voltage type.
Therefore, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bicycle lighting system which can be powered by a conventional low-power bicycle alternator, and which is capable of producing high intensity flashing light.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fly-back circuit, which is highly efficient and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.